Matthew 28:4

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Matthew 28:4
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28:5 →
Johann Heinrich Schönfeld's depiction of the angel guiding the risen Jesus past the collapsed guards
BookGospel of Matthew
Christian Bible partNew Testament

Matthew 28:4 is the fourth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse is part of the resurrection narrative; describing the reaction of the tomb guards after the arrival of the angel of the Lord and the occurrence of an earthquake that opened the tomb.

Content

The original

Westcott and Hort
, reads:

απο δε του φοβου αυτου εσεισθησαν οι
τηρουντες και εγενηθησαν ως νεκροι

In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:

And for fear of him the keepers
did shake, and became as dead men.

The modern World English Bible translates the passage as:

For fear of him, the guards shook, and became like dead men.[a]

Analysis

This verse returns to the guards, literally "those keeping [watch]" (

Mark it is the women who are afraid of the angel, but in Matthew, the women were bystanders and the line about fear was transferred from the women to the guards.[2]

For

Matthew 27:51) when confronted with an earthquake, perhaps reflecting the author of Matthew's fondness for wordplay.[2]

Falling "like dead" occurs again in the

Revelation 1:17, where John did so when presented with his vision of 'the exalted Son of Man'.[2] Similar expressions are also used in contemporary Greco-Roman pagan literature when mortals are confronted by gods.[5] Fear is also the standard reaction in the Bible when confronted by the divine, and this verse is a variation on the expression "fear and trembling" that commonly describes such incidents.[6]

The collapse of the guards removes them from the rest of this section of the narrative. Eduard Schweizer notes that the fainting of the guards and the possible absence of the women at this point indicate that Jesus may have emerged physically from the tomb during the period when no witnesses could have seen him.[7]

Notes

  1. ^ For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 28:4.

References

  1. ^ a b Greek Text Analysis: Matthew 28:4. Biblehub.com
  2. ^ a b c d Nolland 2005, p. 1248.
  3. Dale C. Allison, Jr.
    , A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1988-1997. pg. 541
  4. ^ Gundry, Robert H., Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982. pg. 588
  5. ^ Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2009. pg. 701
  6. ^ Davies, W.D. and Dale C. Allison, Jr. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew. Edinburgh : T. & T. Clark, 1988-1997. pg. 541
  7. ^ Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew, Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975 pg. 524

Sources

  • ISBN 9780802823892
    .
Preceded by
Matthew 28:3 		Gospel of Matthew
Chapter 28 		Succeeded by
Matthew 28:5
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